Gabe Newell: Apple Could "Redefine" Consoles

[Something Amyss]

"I'm also yet to see any smart phone that need a case to stop signal loss when held in a "normal" fashion."

Me neither... and I've seen the iPhone.

Whoops, misread.

The problem being that your claims belie even Apple's response. Again, pretending it isn't true doesn't change much. There's a reason that one of the "fixes" was to give out cases free.

Oh wait, that's probably reality conspiring against you or something. WHY OH WHY MUST APPLE AND THE NEWS AND JUST ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE WHO'S USED AN IPHONE LIE TO MAKE YOU LOOK BAD?

It's a conspiracy, dude.

 

[Something Amyss]

Crap, forgot to add this....

A lie repeated often enough doesn't make it true.

So then why are you repeating them?

 

[Treblaine]

And episode 3 was going to come out in 2007.

HL2: Episode 2 came out in October 2007.

Thing is Gaben said a "Trilogy that will conclude by Christmas 2007"

Erm, trilogy is three games, right:

(1) Half Life 2
(2) HL2: Episode 1
(3) HL2: Episode 2

By the end of episode 2 everything is all wrapped up for the most part with the entire plot line around City 17 completely finished they are now going to a completely new place on a different line of inquiry. It is the beginning of a new sequence of events.

I'm not so champing for another Half Life episode because I feel the 2 we had did it all.

I expect Half Life 3 to debut the successor to the Source Engine and be as different as HL2 was from HL1.

In what way did episode 2 tie anything up? In the last 10 minutes it opened more mysteries about gman then half life 2 and episode 1 combined. Valve has already stated that they are going to continue upgrading the existing source engine rather then making a new one. Portal 2 looked about as good as I can imagine any game to. While it would be easier for them working on a new engine (Do some research on how the falling apart storage chamber was done in the beginning of portal 2) as long as they are fine with going through that, I see no reason for them to make a new engine.

Erm, if Valve have any sense then they will NEVER tell us who the G-man really is. Maybe hint at an answer, but I think we should learn from Darth-Vader/Anikin-Skywalker for the Star Wars prequels that sometimes it's best to leave you Big Bad as mysterious as possible.

G-man's entire appeal is his mystery, pull back the curtain and I guarantee it won't be as interesting as the hinted unknown. It's like when Lost tried to answer all the questions. Wrong move, the entire appeal of The Island was how vaguely plausible yet unexplainable it all was, the explanation didn't really matter, it would have been far better them finally leaving the events wondering "but what about the Polar bear, and Walt, and The Numbers... I guess we'll never know, the important thing is we made it off there alive".

It's like the contents of the briefcase in Pulp Fiction, you DO NOT need to know what is in there, all that matters is that it is awe inspiring and described even by a hardened cockney thug as "beautiful".

Anyway, my point is the EVENTS have been all wrapped up in the City 17 area. HL2 left with the mystery of Gordon and Co surviving some sort of nuclear explosion. Ep1 left us dealing with the conclusion of the ACTUAL blast that was no ordinary explosion that had to be concluded in Ep2. After that they are heading off to a completely different location on a very different line of inquiry with Aperture science and The Borealis, there is no cliffhanger. Yes there are unanswered questions but so too with Half Life 1 and the "episodes" that went with them.

 

[Treblaine]

"I'm also yet to see any smart phone that need a case to stop signal loss when held in a "normal" fashion."

Me neither... and I've seen the iPhone.

Whoops, misread.

The problem being that your claims belie even Apple's response. Again, pretending it isn't true doesn't change much. There's a reason that one of the "fixes" was to give out cases free.

Oh wait, that's probably reality conspiring against you or something. WHY OH WHY MUST APPLE AND THE NEWS AND JUST ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE WHO'S USED AN IPHONE LIE TO MAKE YOU LOOK BAD?

It's a conspiracy, dude.

They unreasonably demand bumpers, they get bumpers to calm them down. Oh shit, "this must prove they have a shit phone".

Does not follow.

Anyway, I don't see how a bumper is such a huge problem. It's a necessity to have a bumper anyway to protect it from - get this - bumping. One moment of clumsiness could cost you $500 it's worth the bumper to protect from falls on its edge, I've lost enough phones this way (and none of them iphones). Plus you can get a sturdier grip (for camera + gaming) and less likely to slip from pockets and so on with the bumper. It's an improvement all around and a bunch of hysterical whiners managed to extort millions out of Apple chasing a transient issue.

I use concave triggers on my PS3 controller PLUS a concave cup on the thumbsticks, $4 investment for a vast improvement. It's not a problem, it's a very worthy investment... NOT NECESSARY but a little improvement for a small amount of money that is worth it to me.

Now if I was going to be a churlish dick I could say:

"*Snort* well it's the worst fucking thing in the world to have to spent even a single extra penny to improve my device in any way... oh woe is me an my unbearable First World Problems. Please, someone call the United Nations and report this evil corporation for his heinous crimes against consumers"

That's all I hear with the Antennagate whiners: First World Problems.

It's not like you have been defrauded of $500, the phone MOST CERTAINLY DOES WORK.

Thing is, even an iPhone WITH a bumper... it's still one of the best phones money can buy. Money I don't have, but still one of the best. Yet people still complain and demand Apple give them more freebies.

 

[Treblaine]

double post

 

[TheDooD]

I've always disliked Apple. I can appreciate the convenience of their devices, but their just too closed off and way overpriced. My family owns an iMac (you know, the desktop ones) and sure it's convenient, everybody but me just uses it as a portal to the internet, a place to access their email, and a calendar.

I suspect that for the price of that iMac I could have (if I was old enough and knowledgeable enough) constructed a PC many times more powerful.

With Apple's popularity, I fear that if they did release a console they might gain market dominance. And if that happened we would be saying a fearful 'hello' to thousands upon thousands of overpriced, inane little titles and fewer AAA games. The PC might also fall off as a gaming platform in favor of macs.

Basically, I think Apple gaining a monopoly of the tech industry would be FAR worse than Microsoft or Sony or what-have-you.

It'll be fucked up yet it is every possible that this could happen because Apple is easy mode. Most people that I know that have an iPhone don't really use it as a telephone. It's all about the apps and all that crap. I really don't want the future of gaming to just be shovelware of overpriced ADD flashgames.

 

[robinkom]

Won't deny the contributions and innovations in tablet/phone gaming by Apple. I'm not at all a fan of their products but I recognize a profitable market when I see it. I doubt Apple would step into the console arena, it's already pretty ruthless in there. I doubt they would commit the money and resources to compete long-term, it's a tricky thing when you're the "new kid" in the console war as companies like NEC, Sony, Microsoft, and SEGA can attest to. None of them some complete popularity immediately, some even took a couple console outings to get it right.

You have to watch your every step, one wrong investment is like stepping on a landmine.

 

[SnakeoilSage]

Could be interesting, though I suspect the Apple console's only contribution would be access to music, a one-button controller and an organic design no one could possibly find sexy.

Consoles aren't about the technology, they're about accessibility. An Apple console would cost a grand and have more apps for games than actual games.